Pneumatic tires and tubes



g- 25, 1964 R. N. SARRIS PNEUMATIC TIRES AND TUBES I NVENTOR K. [V 511m;

Original Filed Nov. 2, 1953 ATTORNEYS United States Patent C) "ice3,145,754 PNEUMATIC TIRES AND TUBES Rennos Nicolaou Sarris, 38 Blvd.Lefebre, Paris, France, assignor of one-third to James C. Gault, Antony,France Continuation of application Ser. No. 547,199, Nov. 14, 1955,which is a division of application Ser. No. 389,819, Nov. 2, 1953. Thisapplication June 19, 1959, Ser. No. 821,573

Claims priority, application Great Britain Nov. 21, 1952 6 Claims. (Cl.152-342) The present invention relates to pneumatic tires, and is acontinuation of application Serial Number 547,199, filed November 14,1955, which in turn is a division of application Serial Number 389,819filed November 2, 1953, both of which are now abandoned.

When it is desired to use a pneumatic tire casing for vehicles without aconventional inner tube, it is necessary to provide for sealing at thebead portions of the tire and in particular, it is necessary to provideeffectively for preventing escape of air from within the casing tooutside in the region between the tire bead portions and the rim of thewheel so that normal inflation pressure will be maintained within thecasing under varying operating conditions. It is further desirable toavoid objectionable out-of-balance effects due to ruptures or puncturesin the tire wall and in particular, to prevent sudden total collapse orgradual inflation resulting from ruptures or punctures in the wall of atire in service. The attempts that have been made in the past to attainthese ends, although many and varied, have not been fully satisfactory.

Among the objects of the present invention are, to provide meanseffectively whereby a pneumatic tire devoid of a conventional inner tubecan normally be used upon a standard wheel rim; to provide forpreventing leakage of air in the region between the bead portions of atire and the supporting rim under normal operating conditions despiteextreme deflections of the tire in high speed service; and to providefor avoiding gradual or sudden complete instability of a casing in theevent of punctures or ruptures in the tire wall.

When a pneumatic tire is mounted upon a rim, it is usually necessary toprovide tools to assist in the mounting operation so that the tire beadportions will pass over either rim flange along its entire periphery. Ihave found that in a mounting operation of this type, it is possible tointerpose a relatively thin annulus between a tire bead portion and asupporting rim flange without impairing the ability of the bead portiontotally to pass over the rim flange and that in passing over saidflange, said bead portion does not offer an objectionably highresistance to the manipulation of the tools used in the mountingoperation. Said annulus maintains an effective anchoring engagement uponthe bead portion despite the coercing action of the tools and alsodespite extreme deflection of the tire in service so that, when the twobead portions of a tire are each provided with an annulus of this typeand the tire thus provided is mounted upon a rim, an effective means isobtained under pressure against leakage of air from within the casing toatmosphere in the region between the tire bead portions and the rim.

According to the invention there is provided for a tubeless pneumatictire a bead seating member comprising a flexible annulus which in radialsection is of substantially U-shape and is adapted to fit upon the beadof a tire casing with one limb of the section inside the said casing andthe other upon the outside thereof so as to be squeezed between theoutwardly facing surface of said bead and the usual rim flange of thewheel. Preferably the seating member incorporates reinforcement in theform of metal portions which are also of U-shape in radial section and3,145,754 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 are arranged to resiliently urge thelimbs of the seating member towards one another for the purpose ofgripping the wall of the tire adjacent the bead.

There is further provided according to the invention a bead seating unitcomprising a pair of such seating members, and an annular belt which isC-shaped in radial section, with its marginal edges merging respectivelyinto the inner limbs of the two seating members.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show,merely by way of example, embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-section showing a pneumatic tire mounted upon a rimwithout inflation valve, two annular seating members being interposedbetween the tire bead portions and the rim and extended by a partitionwall in accordance with and embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged detail view of one corner of FIGURE 1showing one head of a tire with adjacent parts of a rim and the seatingmember and extended partition wall of the present invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale showing a seatingmember.

Although the invention is advantageous where it is desired to use anycurrently standard type of rim, FIGURE 1 shows one existing type ofautomobile rim A which may be of the so-called drop centre type having abase 5, top-side flanges 6, 6, bead-seating flanges 7, 7 and basesideflanges 8, 8. Said rim is shown in FIGURE 1 as mounted with a pneumatictire casing B of the ordinary type terminating in the usual beadportions C, C having, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, axial outer faces 9,9, rimseating faces 10, 10 and axial inner faces 12, 12. Two identicalpincer-like seating members E, E extending in a circumferentiallycontinuous manner grip at the axial outer faces, the rim-seating facesand the axial inner faces of the bead portions and are anchored theretoso as to sufficiently resist, yet not completely frustrate, anyreasonable attempt to remove them from the bead portions by hand.

FIGURE 3 illustratesin cross section more in detail the three sides ofone seating member having an outer arm 20 connected by a base portion 22with an inner arm 24; said outer arm terminating in an outer edge 35 andhaving an outer face 30 and an inner face 40; said base 22 having anouter face 32 and an inner face 42; and said inner arm terminating in aninner edge 36 and having an outer face 34 and an inner face 44.

Although the thickness of the members is shown in cross section in thedrawings equal on all three sides, the inner arms may, if desired, bethicker than the outer arms and/ or the base portions of the members,while the outer arms may be thicker than the base portions of themembers and in order not to obstruct in the operation of mounting thecasing upon the rim, the thickness of the outer arms and of the baseportions of the members may be as low as is consistent with long andsatisfactory service.

Although the seating members E, E may be made to assume any desiredshape, it is preferred that said members be substantially U-shaped asbetter illustrated in cross section in FIGURE 3 so that each seatingmember will grip effectively at the allotted tire bead portion, therebypreventing the possibility of their being dislocated from the beadportions when the tire is mounted upon the rim. Owing to their grippingengagement upon the bead portions on one hand and their rim engaginglocation on the other, said seating members, when interposed between thetire bead portions and the rim, provide effectively a seal againstleakage of air from within the casing to outside past the bead portionof the fire in use. More particularly, the air pumped into the tire atthe beginning of the inflated operation is prevented from escaping toatmosphere in the same rate as it is received into the easing and, asthe inflated operation continues and the inflation pressure within thecasing increases, not only the gripping hold of the members upon thebead portions is enhanced but the axial outer arms and the base portionsof the seating members, under pressure from within the casing, arefirmly pressed against the rim thereby providing a sealing engagement ina continuous manner circumferentially of the tire; this sealingengagement is eflectively maintained even under the most rigorousoperating conditions despite extreme deflections of the tire in highspeed service.

While the seating members may be of rubber or other rubber-like materialalone, one mode of construction of the members is illustrated by way ofexample in FIGURE 3, in which 65 is a layer of rubber or otherrubber-like material in which may be embedded one or more plies 66, 66of any flexible reinforcing material such as woven.

cord fabric of cotton, nylon, rayon or the like extendingcircumferentially, radially and axially about the seating members. Oneor more plies of reinforcing metal 69, also extending along the entireperiphery of each member from outer edge 35 to inner edge 36, as shown,are encased in the layer 65 and, if preferred, bonded thereto so thatthe seating members will be reinforced additionally not only to allowlonger periods of service despite the injuries that their outer faces30, 30, 32, 32 may sustain by the tools used in mounting and demountingthe casing upon and from the rim, but to provide also for maintainingthe gripping engagement of the seating members upon the bead portionscircumferentially, radially and axially of the tire.

If desired, said lining layer may be omitted from the inner faces of themembers so that the outer faces and the rim-seating faces of the beadportions will come into direct contact with the reinforcing metal andfurther, so that the top-side flanges and the bead-seating flanges ofthe rim as well as the axial inner faces of the tire bead portions willengage said lining layer 30, 32, 34 and 44 without coming into directcontact with the reinforcing metal. This provision is also advantageousbecause the thickness of the outer arms and of the bases of the seatingmembers is reduced additionally while the lining layer provided upon theinner faces 44, 44 assists in preventing dislocation of the members fromthe bead portions when the tire is mounted upon the rim.

In FIGURE 3 two flexible plies are illustrated as being embedded inlayer 65 and one metal ply as being encased between two flexible plies,although the number of plies and the material as well as the thicknessand the mutual position thereof, as also the thickness of the layer 65,may be varied as desired.

Before the vulcanizing operation, the reinforcing metal may be in theform of a plurality of closely-spaced wire strips each of a lengthcorresponding to the overall axial and radial measurements of eachseating member from outer edge 35 to inner edge 36, as shown in FIGURE3, or, if preferred, in the form of spaced-apart arcuate sheets, saidstrips or sheets being substantially U-shaped to conform with the shapeof the members after vulcanization and held together at edges 35, 36 bywire rings 64, 64. If desired, the reinforcing metal may be heldtogether by small metal joints at regular intervals, said rings beingformed to assume a collective circumferential U-shape conforming withthe shape of the members after vulcanization.

When the members are subjected to the vulcanizing operation, the axialouter arms are preferably formed to bend inwardly in the direction ofthe inner arms as shown by broken lines 80 in FIGURE 3 so that theability of the members to grip at the bead portions will be strengthenedadditionally in such manner effectively as not only to withstand thecoercing action of the tools used in mounting the casing upon the rimbut to maintain the tight 4 fit of the members upon the bead portionscircumferentially, radially and axially of the tire under extremedeflections of the tire in operation.

Although part of the seating members E, E and part of the tire beadportions are illustrated in FIGURE 1 so as to project or overhang thebead-seating flanges of the rim, the tire csaing may, if desired, bemoulded as provided with bead portions reduced in thickness in theregion of the axial outer faces and/ or the axial inner faces of saidbead portions, the axial length of the bases 22, 22 of the members beingcorrespondingly reduced, so that when the members are fitted on to thetire bead portions, the rimseating faces of the bead portions and thebases 22, 22 of the members will be approximately equal in axial lengthas the bead-seating flanges 7 of the rim. 7

Provision is made for preventing gradual or sudden total collapse of thecasing in the event of a puncture or rupture in the tire wall in thatthe inner arms of the seating members are extended and joined integrallytogether in a circumferentially continuous manner so as to form asubstantially inextensible partition wall shown at 92 in FIGURE 1, saidpartition wall dividing the tire fluid space into two air-tightcompartments intercommunicating, if desired, through a valve 97, ofknown type, so that the air in the course of the tire inflatingoperation will pass from the inner compartment 95 through valve 97 tothe outer compartment 93 until the tire has reached its normal inflationpressure point. Said valve 97 may be adapted to be actuated under apressure differential so that when, as a result of a rupture in the tirewall entailing loss of air from within the belt to outside, and theinflation pressure within the outer compartment 93 falls below apredetermined amount, said valve 97 will close and thus assist the innercompartment to sustain the load of the vehicle sufficiently to allowsaid vehicle to come to a safe stop. Said partition wall may be ofrubber or other rubber-like material in which may be embedded one ormore plies of any flexible material such as woven cord fabric of cotton,nylon, rayon or the like, and, if preferred, one or more plies ofreinforcing metal so as to make it substantially inextensible ashereinbefore described. Said rubber or other rubber-like material of thepartition wall may be adhesively compatible with the layer 65 so that,if preferred, one edge of said partition wall will be secured to theaxially inner arm of one member and ad hered thereto, as shown in FIGURE1, and the other edge of said partition wall will be secured to theaxially inner arm of the other member and adhered thereto, the seatingmembers and the partition wall being formed into an integral unit whenvulcanized.

To permit inflation or deflation of the casing as may be required, aseparable conventional inflation valve may be passed through the usualvalve opening of the rim and secured by two rubber washers. When it isdesired to inflate a pneumatic tire as contemplated by the presentinvention, the partition wall may be introduced into the casing, themembers may then be fitted on to the bead portions by hand while theinflation valve may next be passed through the valve opening of the rimand secured with the aid of the washers and the nut whereupon the casingbecomes ready for inflation after being mounted upon the rim in theusual way. To provide for easier handling of the seating members, theirouter edges may be moulded as provided with bulbs or beads as shown,extending circumferentially of the tire.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pneumatic type of tubeless tire, a tire casing to fit on the rimof a wheel and having beads to be mounted upon the bead seats and at theside flanges of said rim, a separable annular partition member dividingthe space within said tire casing into a plurality of compartments andcomprising U-shaped bead-seating members merging into the marginalannular ends of said partition member to closely receive the beads ofsaid tire casing, said bead-seating members having resilient metallicreinforcing members embedded therein extending substantially radially ofsaid tire casing to exert a gripping action on said tire casing beads,and comprising wire rings embedded at the extremity of each of saidU-shaped bead-seating members, said rings being fastened to saidmetallic reinforcing members to provide an integral reinforcingstructure.

2. In a pneumatic type of tubeless tire, a tire casing to fit on the rimof a wheel and having beads to be mounted upon the bead seats and at theside flanges of said rim, a separable annular partition member dividingthe space within said tire easing into a plurality of compartments andcomprising bead-seating members on the marginal annular ends of saidpartition member, means within said bead-seating members for reinforcingthe same and having a cross-section which is similar in configuration tobut smaller than the cross-section of said tire casing beads, saidreinforcing means being resilient so as to exert a positive grippingaction on both the inner and outer surfaces of said beads to retain saidpartition member in place, said bead-seating members being de tachablefrom said beads.

3. In a pneumatic type of tubeless tire, a partition member as claimedin claim 2 in which said partition member is substantially inextensibleradially, axially and circumferentially thereof.

4. In a pneumatic type of tubeless tire, a tire casing to fit on the rimof a wheel and having beads to be mounted upon the bead seats and at theside flanges of said rim, a separable annular partition member dividingthe space within said tire casing into a plurality of compartments andcomprising bead-seating members on the marginal annular ends of saidpartition member, means within said bead-seating members for reinforcingthe same and having a cross-section which is similar in configuration tobut smaller than the cross-section of said tire casing beads, saidreinforcing means being resilient so as to exert a positive grippingaction on both the inner and outer surfaces of said beads to retain saidpartition member in place while permitting said seating members to bedetachable from said beads, and a differential pressure valve in saidannular partition to maintain a predetermined air pressure within aninner compartment in the event that the pressure in an outer compartmentformed by said partition member falls below a predetermined amount.

5. A flexible circumferentially continuous endless annulus for use incombination with a pneumatic tire casing and a wheel rim; said tirecasing having a tire inner wall with two annular tire beads on the endsthereof; each of said tire beads having a generally radially extendingouter surface, a generally radially extending inner surface, and agenerally axially extending seating surface; said rim having twogenerally radially extending tire bead holding flanges and two generallyaxially extending tire bead seating flanges; said annulus integrallycomprising two annular circumferentially continuous endless resilientchanel-shaped members; said members being adapted to be detachablymounted upon said tire beads and having resilient metallic reinforcementembedded therein whereby to exert a positive gripping action on bothsaid outer surface and said inner surface of each of said tire headswhen mounted thereon; each of said members comprising a generallyradially bent outer leg, a generally radially bent inner leg longer thansaid outer leg and a generally axially extending base portion integrallyconnecting said outer leg with said inner leg throughout thecircumferential extent thereof so that said outer legs of the channelshaped members can be compressed by and between said outer surfaces ofthe tire beads and said tire bead holding flanges of the rim and also sothat said base portion can be compressed by and between said seatingsurfaces of the tire beads and said tire bead seating flanges of the rimto eliminate direct contact of said tire beads with said rim; said innerlegs being curvingly extended generally radially and joined integrallytogether throughout their circumferential extent to form said annulusfor use as a unitary separable partition peripherally dividing the spaceWithin said casing into two airtight chambers retaining inflation airwhen in operation, the one of said chambers being formed by and betweensaid partition and said rim and the other of said chambers being formedby and between said partition and said tire inner wall.

6. A flexible circumferentially continuous endless annulus for use incombination with a pneumatic tire casing and a wheel rim; said tirecasing having a tire inner wall with two annular tire beads on the endsthereof; each of said tire beads having a generally radially extendingouter surface, a generally radially extending inner surface, and agenerally axially extending seating surface; said rim having twogenerally radially extending tire bead holding flanges and two generallyaxially extending tire bead seating flanges; said annulus integrallycomprising two annular circumferentially continuous endless resilientchannelshaped members; said members being adapted to be detachablymounted upon said tire beads; means within each of said members forreinforcing the same, said means having in the unflexed condition ofsaid members a crosssection similar in configuration to but smaller thanthe cross-section of each of said tire beads whereby to exert a positivegripping action on both said outer surface and said inner surface ofeach of said tire heads when said members are mounted thereon; each ofsaid members comprising a generally radially bent outer leg, a generallyradially bent inner leg longer than said outer leg and a generallyaxially extending base portion integrally connecting said outer leg withsaid inner leg throughout the circumferential extent thereof so thatsaid outer leg can be compressed by and between each of said outersurfaces of the tire beads and each of said tire bead holding flanges ofthe rim and also so that said base portion can be compressed by andbetween each of said seating surfaces of the tire beads and each of saidtire bead seating flanges of the rim to eliminate direct contact of saidtire beads with said rim; said inner legs being curvingly extendedgenerally radially and joined integrally together throughout theircircumferential extent to form said annulus for use as a unitaryseparable partition peripherally dividing the space within said easinginto two airtight chambers retaining inflation air when in operation,the one of said chambers being formed by and between said partition andsaid rim and the other of said chambers being formed by and between saidpartition and said tire inner wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,244,941 Degnon June 10, 1941 2,501,372 Benson Mar. 21, 1950 2,680,463Khalil June 8, 1954 2,698,042 Perkins Dec. 28, 1954 2,756,800 Riggs July31, 1956 2,811,189 Howard Oct. 29, 1957 2,853,115 Church Sept. 23, 1958

1. IN A PNEUMATIC TYPE OF TUBELESS TIRE, A TIRE CASING TO FIT ON THE RIMOF A WHEEL AND HAVING BEADS TO BE MOUNTED UPON THE BEAD SEATS AND AT THESIDE FLANGES OF SAID RIM, A SEPARABLE ANNULAR PARTITION MEMBER DIVIDINGTHE SPACE WITHIN SAID TIRE CASING INTO A PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS ANDCOMPRISING U-SHAPED BEAD-SEATING MEMBERS MERGING INTO THE MARGINALANNULAR ENDS OF SAID PARTITION MEMBER TO CLOSELY RECEIVE THE BEADS OFSAID TIRE CASING, SAID BEAD-SEATING MEMBERS HAVING RESILIENT METALLICREINFORCING MEMBERS EMBEDDED THEREIN EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY RADIALLY OFSAID TIRE CASING TO EXERT A GRIPPING ACTION ON SAID TIRE CASING BEADS,AND COMPRISING WIRE RINGS EMBEDDED AT THE EXTREMITY OF EACH OF SAIDU-SHAPED BEAD-SEATING MEMBERS, SAID RINGS BEING FASTENED TO SAIDMETALLIC REINFORCING MEMBERS TO PROVIDE AN INTEGRAL REINFORCINGSTRUCTURE.